


Bright Stars, Dull Futures

by ThiefOfADHD (orphan_account)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Autistic Keith (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), But like for Galran genetics, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gay Keith (Voltron), I mean like it's canon so, Intersex Keith (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Siblings, M/M, Mpreg, Nausea, Pregnant Keith (Voltron), References to Autism, References to Depression, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Teen Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-05-09 17:11:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14720234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/ThiefOfADHD
Summary: Space isn't a great place for a teenager. Especially when there's a galactic war going on. But, hey, there's this shit going on.Yeah. This exists now.Perma-hiatus.





	1. Sick of Fighting

**_Clang!_ **

“Ow! Fuck!” Keith winced, gripping the controls on the black lion as he shut his eyes tightly. He didn't expect to get hit so suddenly by the Galra ship so suddenly, but the worst part was the nausea that filled him from the sudden jerk.

“Keith, is everything alright?” Allura’s voice came through, waiting for the black paladin’s response.

“Yeah.” He groaned, quickly cutting off his communication com as he suddenly got sick inside the lion. He trembled, grabbing the controls as he slowly pulled back from the fight. He couldn't leave the fight, but he needed a break, the nausea was getting to be too much.

“Keith! Where the hell are you going!?! We are in the middle of a fight!” Lance yelled, and Keith looked up to rub his face. A scowl filled his face, getting his com back on.

“We need to finish off this ship and get back to the castle!” He called, his nausea subsiding as he launched forward, firing at the ship. “We need to form Voltron!”

“Good to see that you're focused.” He heard the red paladin sass, and he almost went to hit the lion, but they had other things to do. As they formed, he shut his eyes, feeling a wave a nausea hit him and pass by. It was just a stomach bug, it had to be.

"Hunk! Your gun!” He called, swallowing his nerves of the possibility of getting sick as he made sure they could fire the ship quickly.

“Why didn't you let me get my gun?! I'm the sharpshooter of the team!” Lance argued.

“Your gun isn't large enough!” He barked, getting the rest of the team to help in shooting at the ship quickly. It took a few hits, but they finally got the ship down. As the rest of the team cheered, the nausea returned.

“Fuck-” He bit his lip, hoping it'll stop and go away. However, he didn't expect the deformation of Voltron to shift the black lion-

“ _Eugh!_ ”

He gripped his seat, puking again as he gripped his seat tightly. The nausea didn't go away this time, and he found himself getting sick a third time. He trembled, sitting back as he covered his mouth. That was pretty loud, luckily nobody heard him-

“Hunk! I thought you were over your stupid motion sickness stuff!” Lance groaned, and Keith's violet-grey eyes widened in fear.

“Uh, Lance, that wasn't me.” Hunk responded. “It had to be someone else.”

“I'm certain it came from the black lion.” Pidge admitted. “Cause Allura and I are fine.”

Keith turned off the communicate com again, quickly turning and flying the black lion back to the castle’s hanger. He didn't care to listen to the others’ concerns, he just had to go.

When he arrived back in the hanger, Keith stayed in the black lion to clean it out. Shiro would have to use it next, if he still felt like this that is. He groaned, stopping as he sat down and covered his mouth. He breathed quietly, listening out of the hanger to the others who had arrived back.

“Hey, Keith!” He heard Lance call, and if he wasn't about to vomit again, he'd tell him to go away. “We're all gonna go eat! Would you like some food goo-”

Well, that set him off, getting sick again before going to the loudspeaker.

“Fuck. You.” He rasped out, slamming it down as he went back to cleaning.

“Jesus… alright.” Lance left, and Keith groaned, sitting in the lion before leaving quietly.

He walked into his room before instantly removing his armor and getting into the shower. He felt disgusting, and the fact that he still felt nauseated meant that this wasn't going to pass from sheer stubbornness.

When he got out, he dried off and changed into a clean pair of boxers and a shirt as he curled up. Holding his pillow tightly, he shut his eyes, starting to drift off…

There was a gentle knock on his door after awhile, and he let out a grunt as he kept turned away from the door.

“What?” He called, hearing the door slide open and shut as footsteps went closer to him. He kept his eyes shut, but soon he felt something warm cover him. He opened his eyes before seeing the mossy green jacket sleeve on him.

“Lance, why the hell are you in here?” He grumbled, moving into the jacket as he started to smell it. It smelled like faded cologne and the soft hints of what he could only describe as homemade ocean. It was a safe scent for him.

“I thought I'd come check on you, cause you kinda kept getting sick and angry. Also, Shiro  cleaned the black lion for you. I'll tell him that I gave you the ‘don't go on missions when sick’ speech, but you normally ignore it, so-”

“ Why do you care? You normally avoid my room anyways, so why are you here?”

“Keith, we're friends. I'm not going to avoid your bedroom because-”

“Because the last time you were in here, we fucked?” Keith cut him off, rolling over and looking at Lance. He watched the Cuban for a moment, shutting his eyes again. “Look, it's just a stomach bug, it'll go away…”

“Keith, do you regret that we slept together?” He asked, Keith could detect a saddened tone in his voice as he moved to lay down with him. Keith opened his eyes again, watching him silently for a moment. Soon, he scooted closer to Lance, hugging onto him as he started moving his black hair into his face.

“Keith, hey...” Lance moved, taking his wrists gently before stroking his hair. He watched the tanned arm move as the taller male's other arm wrapped around him. It was protective, calming…

A sob fell from him as he moved, hiding his face in Lance’s chest. The other hadn't stopped, but instead moved to sit them both up and cradle Keith in his arms. He instantly hugged Lance's neck, sobbing against him as he heard the Cuban’s soft voice start to sing in Spanish. He normally didn't get like this, he rarely cried unless he was overstimulated into a meltdown. This was different, he was crying just from comfort.

“It's okay.” Lance whispered, hugging him as his lips pressed against his forehead gently. “It'll be okay.”

Keith nodded, resting on Lance as he trembled.

“Please-” His voice crackled as he shifted, moving closer to Lance as he tried to get him to lay them both down. “Stay. Please.”

“It's okay. I'll stay.” He promised, rubbing his back as he laid down, letting the Korean whimper into him.

“Thank you.” He hugged onto him, trying to calm down as he let the Cuban play with his hair still.


	2. Shop Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New chapter who dis

Keith didn't know when he fell asleep, but he woke up to see that he was still in Lance’s arms, the blanket pulled up to them. He started to stim, listening to nothing but Lance’s breathing. He felt around the jacket he still had, finding an iPod and some earbuds. He moved, quietly putting on music as he pressed his back against the Cuban’s chest. Once the soft Latin guitars came on, he relaxed, taking the tanned hand that was around him in his own, ivory one. The overstimulation was a problem he had, but at least Lance helped. Feeling the warmth of another body, seeing the soft blue colors he had, the calming music, his scent… it was different from anything he had. It was relaxing.

He felt himself being pulled more into Lance, and the feeling of lips on his neck caused him to remove an earbud.

“Morning.” He whispered, moving to get more neck kisses as he felt the warm hands brush against his sides as his shirt rose up. He shut his eyes, feeling the hands move down his boxers to his barely half-erect-

“Paladins! You're needed in 5 doboshes!” Allura called loudly, the alarms blaring as Lance pulled away from him. He sat up and turned to him, giving him his jacket and iPod back.

“Thanks.” He mumbled, getting up and getting dressed as he watched Lance leave. He swallowed hard, feeling his chest tighten as he forced back tears. Once he was dressed, he went out to the main deck, his hands in his pockets.

“I'm glad you all could make it.” Allura hummed, opening the controls. “I have great news, and that is that-”

“We're going back to the space mall!” Coran cut her off quickly. “We recently got a donation from an anonymous source. Nine million GAK!” He walked towards them, giving all of them each a share. “So, we're going on a shopping trip for essentials.  _ Only essentials _ !” He warned.

Keith looked at the money, nodding. “Essentials. Alright.” He mumbled, pocketing it as he waited for further instruction.

“Now, I'll take you all there-”

“SHOTGUN!” Lance blurted, running to the pods as Hunk chased after him. Keith rolled his eyes as he went after them. Shiro stopped him.

“Hey, you alright?” He asked, looking at him.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” He looked at him, taking a deep breath.

“Alright. Be careful, alright?”

“Will do.” He patted his arm, going to the pods to catch up with Coran, Hunk, Pidge, and Lance.

Keith found himself wandering the space mall quietly, holding his money in his hand as he walked around each of the shops. He paused when he got to the food court, looking at it quietly. He felt his stomach growl, and soon he was approaching a buffet-style booth.

Once there, he grabbed two trays, filling them both with assorted foods. It was all alien and weird-looking, but God it smelled delicious-

“Keith?” He froze, turning around to look at Hunk, who had a whole tray of food. “Why do you have two trays that you're filling with food?” He asked.

Keith quietly got another plate of food, watching him. “Carbo loading before I train.” He blurted, moving and getting two bottles of juice and another thing of food. He paid for it and quickly went to a table before starting to scarf it down. He watched Hunk follow him, and all he could do was pull his food closer to himself.

“Dude, you normally don't eat even a fourth of what you currently have. Is this from you getting sick yesterday?” He asked, eating his own food.

“I dunno.” Keith mumbled, eating quickly. The food had odd textures, mingling tastes, and it was more than perfect.

“Hm.” Hunk shrugged, soon being patted on the head by a tray as Lance plopped down.

“Wow, Keith. Are you turning into Hunk now? With all your eating and vomiting?” He laughed, getting a cold glare from Keith as he kept eating. “Keith, I'm joking.”

“Whatever.” He mumbled, looking and seeing Pidge moving to grab food from one of his trays. A growl left him, and she paused, looking at him.

“Galra are protective of their food. Got it.” She pulled her hand away, sitting next to him. He hesitated, giving her a bowl of… fruit? Yeah, fruit. It didn't look appetizing anymore.

“Here.” He mumbled, moving an empty plate aside as he cleared another plate. He didn't know why, but he felt like a starved tiger.

He heard Lance whistle. “Someone is starved.” He got up, taking a burger off Keith's tray as the other growled at him. “See ya!” He waved, walking off.

Keith kept growling, eating more as he curled up in his seat. He looked up, seeing Hunk and Pidge staring.

“What are you looking at!?!” He yelled. Both of them quickly turned away.

“Nothing! Just about to leave!” Hunk blurted.

“Yeah! Gonna go look at some tech!” Pidge added, and both took off. Keith huffed, eating as he scowled more.

When they got back to the castle, the nausea returned at almost full force. Keith had to sit in the back of the pod, waiting for it to pass before he could take off to hide. Okay, stomach flu was one thing, but he felt fine all day and he was suddenly sick.

“I ate too much…” He whispered to himself, moving out of the pod before going towards his room. “Yeah. I just overate. I'm fine. Just a… stomach ache.”

He walked into his room, seeing a small package on his bed before sitting down. He surveyed it, opening it quietly before seeing a small necklace inside. The pendant on it was a small blade with an amethyst gem. The only note with it was a beautiful cursive ‘L’. He smiled, tears filling his eyes as he put the necklace on, feeling it gently. It was beautiful.

He heard a knock on his door, and he wiped his eyes. “Yeah?” He called. The door opened, and Shiro came in.

“Hey. You doing alright?” He asked.

“Yeah.” He nodded, looking at the necklace again as he tried to force down another wave of nausea.

“Still sick?” Shiro asked, and Keith could swear he noticed.

“Yeah. I probably overate at the space mall today.” He admitted, laying down quietly.

“Alright.” Shiro got up, looking at Keith. “Oh, Keith?”

“Yeah?” He looked up.

“If this keeps up, I want you to go to the cryopod and get checked out by Coran.” Shiro left after that, leaving Keith alone. He wasn't sick. He couldn't be sick. Not in space.


	3. Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Coran notices some things about Keith, he decides it's best to give him a checkup. It... gets interesting.

“Hey! C'mon! Let me in!” Keith groaned, hitting the violet bubble surrounding the black lion. “It's me! Keith! Your paladin!” He growled, hitting the bubble again before getting his blade out. He launched at the bubble, when it suddenly disappeared and a growl came from the lion.

Keith scowled, looking at the lion. “Why won't you let me in!?!” He argued, putting his blade away as he looked into the lion’s large, yellow eyes. He didn't get a response, and he turned away.

“So, don't want to train, huh? I get it. That's… fine-”

Shiro walked in, looking at Keith. “What are you doing?” He asked, walking right up to the black lion as it let him inside eagerly. Keith looked at the lion with a scowl.

“No fucking way. You have got to be shitting me!! Is it because I got sick in you!?!” He screamed, watching as the lion left the hanger to go train with Shiro. “FINE! SEE IF I CARE!” He screamed, turning away before going to the kitchen with a scowl. At least he could eat and go to the training room.

While digging through the fridge, he heard an alert run through the castle as the rest of the paladins went to get their lions. Great, he was stuck there with Coran while the rest of them fought the Galra. Just his luck-

“Keith, why aren't you getting any of the so called goo that you paladins are so fond of?” Coran’s voice startled the teen, causing him to drop the four containers of food he'd pulled out.

“Um… no thanks? I think one of the goo hoses is malfunctioning or something. It keeps making me sick.” Keith mumbled. He watched the older Altean examine the hoses curiously.

“No? They're both fine.” He mumbled. “Do you think you're sick? Maybe we could get you into the cryopod and check to see if there's anything wrong with you.”

Keith hesitated, picking up the food containers as he put them back. “Alright…” He shut the fridge, leaving the kitchen with Coran.

* * *

Keith stood in the cryopod, watching Coran do a quick scan of him. If he was sick, it would end up shutting and putting him to sleep as it healed him.

“So… um, how's life?” He asked, starting to get antsy as he watched the cryopod grow a neon light blue.

“It's going splendid.” Coran admitted, twisting his mustache as the tablet he had let out a small charm. Keith watched the older Altean pout as he tapped the tablet. With that, the cryopod turned off.

“Is um… is everything alright?” He asked, stepping out as he watched the tablet spit out a small photograph. Coran studied it for awhile, and Keith felt as though his chest was collapsing into itself. “Coran?”

The other didn't say anything, simply looking  at Keith with a puzzled look. That was when he gave him the photograph image-down. Keith's fingers trembled as he flipped it over, pausing.

“Okay, what the hell is this?” He asked, looking at Coran. All he saw was a small white blob on a black protractor-shaped image. “C'mon, Coran, you can tell me-”

“Keith, that's a child. You're pregnant.” Coran blurted. At that moment, the world simply stopped. The man’s lips moved and his mustache bounced,but everything went out of focus, went black and chrome and blurry.

Keith didn't notice the death grip on the photo he had until Coran tried to take it from him. He panicked, running to his room quickly, locking the door when he was inside. His legs gave out on him and he let out a sob, grabbing at his hair as he looked at the photo. He was shaking greatly, tears falling down onto his pants.

He was a guy! He couldn't have kids! How did he even get pregnant?! Oh God, he was only a kid. He couldn't have a kid! He couldn't- he can't breathe. Why can't he breathe!?! Why can't- what- could he? What was going on- everything felt dizzy. It was-

“Keith! Keith, breathe. Deep breaths, c'mon.”

He didn't notice Coran kneeling in front of him, but when he did, he clung to him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. He felt a hand rub his back as he trembled, coughing and gagging as he sobbed. He felt dizzy, scared, everything felt like it was crashing.

“There, there… it's going to be okay… I won't tell anyone until you're ready.” He whispered. “But, Allura will need to know. I won't tell anyone else.”

Keith nodded, pulling away as he curled up. He let out a whimper as he took the photo again, holding it to his chest. It didn't feel real. In fact, this was still terrifying.

“Please… only Allura. I- I just need to know how this happened.” He whispered, moving to his bed shakily.

“I'll figure it out. You go ahead and get some rest. You'll need to make some choices, after all.” He left, shutting the door.

Keith laid down, curling up as his hand went to his stomach. A baby. He was having a baby. He was going to be a parent.

Choices. Did… Did Coran suggest that he could get rid of it-

“Keith?”

He opened his eyes, sitting up slowly before looking at the person who spoke up. He felt safe. He wasn't pregnant, Lance was here to comfort him, he was just having a-

He looked at the photo on the bed, and he slowly put it under his pillow.

“Um…. yes?” He asked. He felt the bed shift before he got pulled down into a hug. He shut his eyes, snuggling into him.

“Are you okay? I overheard Coran talking to Allura. He said you had a panic attack?” He asked, his fingers going through his mullet. He swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry as he thought.

“Keith?” Lance moved to look at Keith, feeling his cheek.

“I'm pregnant.”


	4. Decisions/The Meltdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has to decide what he needs to do. Featuring: self-projection onto Keith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday Lance!!

Silence. It sucked.

Keith couldn't bother to look at Lance. Fuck. He must've fucked up. He was only seventeen!

“S- Sorry.” Keith stammered out suddenly, moving away from Lance as he hid his face in his own hair. He felt Lance shift, and all he could do was let out a loud whine. That was when he felt the warm hand on his cheek.

“Keith, look at me.”

Keith slowly turned, looking at Lance before sobs instantly fell from him. He hadn't even noticed being lifted up into a warm hug until he opened his eyes to see the green jacket that Lance always had.

“Keith, it's gonna be okay.” Lance whispered, kissing his head. “It's going to be okay.”

The Cuban’s words faded in Keith’s subconscious, leaving Keith to sit and try and calm down from just the warmth. It didn't seem to be helping, and he soon started hitting his fists against his head, tugging at the hair as he did so.

“Keith, stop!” Lance told him, having a grip on his wrists. “Stop. Calm down, why don't we calm down and then we can talk about what we are going to do, okay?” He offered. Keith could only nod, moving into Lance’s arms sadly.

* * *

 "Coran, can I talk to you?”

The mustached Altean turned, looking at Keith. “Ah, what is it that you need?” He asked, his kind tone sitting sweetly as he watched him.

“I uh… well, you probably have been uh, wondering. Like, who the father is-”

“Oh! No, I figured that if it was something you needed to discuss that you'd come to me or Allura about it-”

“It's Lance.” He cut him off suddenly. “I um, he knows now. I don't want Shiro or Hunk or Pidge or, hell, the entire galaxy to know. I just want it between the four of us.” He sighed, watching the older man’s soft expression.

“I see. Well, have you two discussed what you wanted to do about your predicament?” He asked.

_“Lance, I can't be a parent! I'm too young, I'm- I'm going to ruin this kid!” Keith paced around the room, cleaning up as he did so and reorganizing everything. Just a dumb thing he always did._

_“Keith! Keith, hey! You know you won't deal with this alone, right?” Lance butted in, touching Keith’s shoulders to try and relax him._

_“What, so you're just going to take the kid?” He bit out, and he'd be lying if the thought of Lance taking the baby from him was making him cry. Yet, the thought of being alone with the baby or giving it to someone else-_

_“Keith, we have options.” Lance hugged him, wiping his tears away gently. “I want us to keep the baby. I want to raise it with you. But, it's your body, so if you want to do something else, then it's okay.”_

Keith nodded, taking a deep breath.

* * *

 During dinner, Keith kept picking at his food goo. Hunk had tried modifying it, but the look of it still made him queasy. This was fucking horrible.

He let out a loud whine, shoving his food away as he kicked his legs. This was a lot on him right then and there. Nothing had been helping. Nothing! NOTHING!!

“Keith?” Pidge asked, moving to him and touching his arm. “Keith? Do you need your blanket?” She asked.

Keith nodded, curling up as he heard Pidge trot off. He shut his eyes covering his ears as well before he felt two arms around him.

“Keith, hey…” Hunk cooed, petting his hair. “You wanna go sit on the couch? I can make you something to drink. Would you like that?” He asked softly. Hunk only got a nod from Keith.

He curled up when the large Samoan picked him up. He was starting to relax, things were fine-

“Keith? I found this in your room. Why do you have a sonogram?” Pidge’s voice cut through the air, silencing everything.

Keith’s chest tightened, his stomach churned, everything ached. It all ached. He couldn't move.

Any and all voices that tried to talk to him weren't heard, everyone talked amongst each other. Keith was set down, and he took the chance to take his blanket, his sonogram, and take off to his room quickly.

The tears fell aggressively, the fear was scattering. They all knew now. They all knew.

He got into his bed, hitting his head against his pillow as he gasped out loudly. He wanted to scream, but he didn't want to get into trouble. Eventually, caution was thrown out and he started screaming loudly.

He heard someone calling his name. He felt strong arms pulling him into a hug. He felt himself choking on sobs into a familiar-feeling vest.

He felt cool, metallic fingers in his hair, and there was nothing else he could do.

“I'm- I'm sorry, Shiro- I'm sorry!” He kept repeating it like a mantra, sobbing as he did so. The hug only tightened, and he was soon being gently rocked.

“It's okay, Keith. Nobody’s mad, it's going to be okay.” Shiro whispered, hugging him. “Coran told us that you hadn't decided what you wanted to do yet.”

Keith sniffled, looking into Shiro’s neck as he tried to even out his breathing.

“I'm keeping my baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, context for what happened during the dinner scene:
> 
> Keith's pregnant, under a lot of stress, and with that it's making him overstimulated. As one can imagine, calming him down is good but can only be temporary until he can resolve the problem. So, his meltdown resulted from him being unable to resolve the problem until he was told that it was okay. 
> 
> ALSO HOLY SHIT ARE Y'ALL READY FOR S7


	5. Full of Discoveries and Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, a lot of Galran genetics involved. And surprises~

_“I'm keeping my baby.”_

The words seem to have a silencing effect on the other paladins and Coran and Allura. He gripped his blanket, roving his thumb along the knitted fabric. The sound and touch of it were pleasing to his over-sensitive senses and he closed his eyes, focusing on it and his breathing.

_In and out. In and out. In and out._

“You're keeping the baby?” Shiro asked, rubbing Keith’s back. Hunk walked over, handing Keith a mug of hot chocolate.

He took the mug and kept it between his hands, warming them, “I don't know the first thing about raising a quarter Galran human baby in space, but I'm keeping it.”

The feeling of several eyes on him made him uneasy, even if he had his older brother to comfort him. Even if the father of his child was in the room. It-

“Hey, um, Keith?” Shiro asked, “I don't mean to be rude, but who um, who's the father?”

He lurched forward, setting his mug on the nearest surface and stood with his blanket wrapped around him. It was a cocoon of warmth and it made up for the loss of heat putting the mug down gave him.

“I'm not ready to even go there with you right now, Shiro, and I don't think he is either.” The elder’s brown eyes studied Keith, and surprisingly, it was comforting.

“Alright. Take your time with it, alright? You and the father.” He hugged Keith, stroking his hair gently.

He leaned into the touch for all of five seconds, then jerked away and cast a furtive glance all around himself. There were so many eyes on him, mostly of sympathy and that was not okay. That was far from okay.

He didn't need their sympathies or well-wishes, not when they weren't the ones that were knocked up with no humane way of getting said fetus out of them when it came time to it. Let's face it, he was not pushing a damn baby out of his ass and the only other option was to get it cut out of him by someone who wouldn't even know a thing about human physiology.

He turned away and stalked from the room as quickly as he could without tripping on his blanket. 

There were footsteps following him, however, and he had to fight all rage in him as he turned around. However, rage melted when calming blue eyes met his own. He didn't notice how he was embraced in faded cologne and homemade ocean until he felt the vibration of Lance’s voice against his head.

“Keith.” He whispered, rubbing his back. Keith never knew what the ocean was like, but the movements were like the waves. “Do you need a break from everyone?” He asked.

A strangled noise erupted from him and then he was falling into Lance, gripping at any part of fabric that he could reach at. God, did he need time away from all of the stares and unspoken judgements. Even if they all seemed nice about it, they had to be judging him. What kind of leader went and got themselves knocked up?

“How are we going to do this?” He squeezed his eyes shut around tears that threatened to fall.

“Shh…” Lance whispered, holding him close. “I know how to do this, it's okay. I'm one of sixteen kids, after all.”

“Were any of them a quarter Galra? What if Galran babies are different from human ones? How are we even going to feed it? Human babies drink breast milk and I am not creating any of that, as far as I know. So, what are we going to do? The baby can't eat food goo!” He hadn't realized he was yelling until his throat began to hurt and he rubbed at it.

“Hey, deep breaths.” Lance cooed, leading Keith through slow, relaxing breaths. “It's going to be okay. We'll figure it out. Quarter Galra isn't much different from half Galra. You remember how you were raised? It should be somewhat like that. More human, sure, but definitely somewhat like that.”

“Keith?” Coran's voice piped up suddenly.

He took several breaths before turning to face the Altean, albeit distrustfully, “Coran?” He asked.

“If you want, we have a database on Galran young. We can also run a test or two to see how your body is changing from this. We'll need another male human for comparison, of course.” He spoke softly, although it wasn't demeaning. He spoke as if with experience, like he'd been in a similar situation himself.

Keith nodded and chanced a glance at Lance, “You could volunteer for the human male, you know, since you got me in this predicament.” He whispered sardonically.

“Wouldn't miss it for the world, hothead.” Lance laughed, and Coran led them to a research area of the castle.

The walk was long enough for him to repeat the phrase over and over in his head. Wouldn't miss it for the world. For the world? Why would the world need him to miss it? Was it a joke? Like the Voltron thing?

He stopped in the center of the lab and fixed Lance with a look, “I don't get it.” He finally admitted.

Lance blinked at Keith, “Don't get wha- oh. The thing I said before we got here?” He asked. “It's just what people say. I was just saying that nothing would make me miss this. Y'know, just a figure of speech.”

“Then why didn't you just say that in the first place? You didn't need to make it sound like the world would make you miss something like this. That makes no sense!”

“And that is what makes us different.” Lance pouted. “It makes perfect sense, but you have to have half of a Galra brain to mess with you!”

“Hey, hey!” Coran stepped between them. “I set up the scanning pods. I need you two to get in. Lance, get in the right one. Keith, you in the left.” He pointed to each pod, and Lance didn't hesitate to climb into the pod quickly.

Keith climbed into his own pod and took a breath before lying down.

The whirring and small blue light that scanned him made things uneasy. It made him feel uneasy, his entire head felt like it was frying, getting fuzzy. He needed out soon.

The pods soon shut down, letting them both get out. Coran had gotten the scans from every part of them. The older Altean pouted, zooming into the brain scans.

“Alright, so I'm not sure how much of this is accurate, as I don't know humans, but I did encrypt it to get any abnormalities that would be seen to differ from an Altean, or human.” He explained.

The scans showed both brains. The one with Keith’s had parts of the brain highlighted. The autism. He'd seen photos online when he was back on Earth. The rest of his brain had a small purple tint to it. That had to be the Galra part, right?

Then a look at Lance’s. He froze.

There were parts of the brain that were deeply highlighted. Different mental illnesses.

The autism portion was highlighted for him, too.

He turned to Lance, searching his comforting blue eyes for half a tick, “Lance.” His voice came out strained to even his own ears.

Lance looked away, gripping his jacket as he shut his eyes. The comforting blue eyes were gone.

“I don't want to talk about it.” He mumbled, and suddenly, the signs were there. Why he was shocked when Pidge said that she was a girl, why he occasionally had fits, why he could understand him so easily.

That didn't explain all of it, but how Keith could miss it-

“You don't need to talk about it, it's okay.” He hesitated, then continued. “Most people go undiagnosed for years.”

“I was four.” He told him. “Misdiagnosis is more rare in boys than it is girls. Trust me, I know.” He sat down in a chair nearby, shifting in his jacket. “Why do you think I have my jacket at all times?”

“It helps you stim.” He answered immediately.

God, it was so obvious. 

“Mhm.” He nodded, his blue eyes finally returning to Keith’s. Comforting blue eyes. 

“You can- Well, I'm here if you need to talk about it.” 

“I know.” He patted the chair next to himself. Oh, he expected Keith to sit next to him. It would be rude to ignore it, so he sat down.

“So, Coran, what can you tell us?” He asked, changing the subject.

Coran hummed. “Well, you're about twelve movements along. Not sure how that measures up to your time measurement, but I'd say um…”

Lance looked at the screen. “Nine, maybe ten weeks. Your movement are a bit longer than our weeks.”

“Ah. Thank you, Lance.” Coran smiled. “As for your body, Keith, with you being at twelve movements, you'll be seeing different changes. See, Galra all have the same anatomy-”

“Wait wait wait, so Galra are intersex?” Lance blurted.

“Inter-what?” Coran asked.

“He means- Well… Uh, that they have both male and female parts, but one can be-”

He tensed up, swallowing hard. God, was he saying that he-

He quickly looked at the scans. “We should have Pidge scanned. For a full comparison.” He breathed out hesitantly, panic bubbling.

“I'll be right back. I'll just save these and have her do a scan for a full comparison.” Coran nodded, saving the scans and leaving the room.

Lance was quiet. “So, um… since he's gone. Can I uh, mention that you kinda have a…?” A what?

“A cunt.” He finished lamely, glaring at Lance just on the off chance that the other might make fun of him.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “It's pretty.” He blurted suddenly. 

A flush rose to his face and he quickly looked away from Lance, “Um, thanks.” He replied awkwardly.

Coran came back with Pidge following, whistling as Pidge got into the pod.

“So, I'm going to make a quick assumption. Lance, did you and Keith do the nasty?” Pidge asked.

“Oh my god, Pidge!” Keith argued loudly, his face was probably close to resembling a tomato at this point.

“What, I'm doubting you and Shiro- Ew. Or- EW!” She cringed. “Plus, Hunk is-” She paused. 

“Is?” He pressed.

“Nothing. Nothing.” She glanced away, soon stepping out of the pod and looking at all the scans. “Wow, Lance, didn't know you had depression.”

“Hmph.” Lance looked away, soon dropping his head on Keith’s shoulder. It was gentle, sweet.

“Anyways, Coran?” He asked.

“Mhm. You share anatomy from both male and female humans, similar to a Galra.” Coran admitted. “So, that makes the development and birth of your child easier to manage.”

“And um, how long do Galra… pregnancies… last?” Lance asked softly.

“Six phoebs.” Coran admitted.

“Wait- I only have three months left? Three months to prepare?” And his panic was back.

“Not exactly.” Pidge adjusted her glasses. “Human pregnancies last nine months, so if anything, you have five to six months left. If we take into consideration it's quarter Galra.” She looked at Keith’s scans. “Besides, with your development, I can calculate that you were born about six and a half months of pregnancy. Longer than a typical Galran pregnancy but quite shorter than a human pregnancy.”

“Oh! So it'll be like the baby is going to be born prematurely? But like, on time?” Lance asked.

“Precisely.” Pidge nodded.

“Five to six months. I think we can work with that.” He admitted.

Lance nodded, smiling. “Man, we're having a baby.” He whispered.

“We're having a baby.” He agreed, smiling for the first time since he got the news.


End file.
